1. When will the Minister publish an evaluation of the Welsh Government's rapid diagnostic centres plan? OAQ54895

Thank you for the question. The NHS-led cancer implementation group has funded two pilot rapid diagnostic centres. The interim evaluation reports were considered at its meeting in November 2019 and the final evaluation is due to be considered at its meeting in May of this year. I will update Members later in the year on the evaluation and the impact upon NHS planning and delivery.

We know that diagnosing cancer early can be the difference between a good outcome or a poor outcome when it comes to treatment of that cancer. Quite simply, diagnosing cancer early will often save a patient's life. The positive evidence coming forward as a result of the pilot schemes in Neath Port Talbot and in the Royal Glamorgan Hospital is to be welcomed. But the people of Gwynedd are calling for a similar service, with over 1,500 people having signed an open letter calling for a rapid diagnostic centre in our area. Given that cancer does lead to more deaths in Gwynedd than anything else, and as we do know that rapid diagnosis does save lives, when will we see a rapid diagnostic centre coming to the north-west of Wales?

Well, as I say, the evaluation due in May of this year will allow us to understand the exact impact, although, obviously, the highlighting in the last couple of days has been a positive initial evaluation. The final evaluation will tell us more about not just those two sites, but then help to inform a national plan and, at that point, I'll be able to update Members on what that looks like, because there is more to consider than just simply picking locations; it's also about then having the right workforce and the right capital, should that be a requirement, around it as well. But I'm looking forward to the final evaluation and then making a choice, together with the system, about how to take that forward.

Minister, I think we all read the very positive story about Neath Port Talbot yesterday. Of course, they've tested the pilots in England, and they are well on their way to establishing a national network. In fact, by April of this year—that's a whole month before your evaluation is finally conducted—there will be a network in England. Why are we so far behind?

We're not so far behind. I don't think that's a fair reflection at all, with respect, Mr Melding. The reality is that we've set up these pilots, we're learning lots from them, and I expect to make choices across our system within this year, and we'll then be into the implementation phase. I wouldn't quite take at face value every single press release that is issued in England about where they are in reality in terms of their service. We've seen, for example, in other periods of health spending and health performance where press releases are issued but don't actually reflect the reality upon the ground. I'm interested in an evaluation within our system of how our system works in an integrated and planned way in delivering that care on a more consistent basis across the country when we know what the right answer is. I'm much more interested in being in the space of helping to direct the service to make improvements, rather than simply saying there are lots of good ideas but I don't have a view on what that should mean across the service.

Minister, will you join me in congratulating Dr Heather Wilkes and her team at Neath Port Talbot Hospital, and her predecessor, Dr Jeremiah, who have actually undertaken this work, and, as a consequence, we are seeing that lives are being saved through earlier diagnosis? But as you pointed out, just now and in the committee this morning, if we want more of these, we need staff to be able to deliver those departments and those units. What are you doing, as a Government, to prepare for a situation where, if these pilots are shown to be the case, with continuing positive results, we'll be able to expand this into other areas, so we have the staff, we have the resources and we have the equipment to ensure that this can be expanded across Wales?

I think the points that I made in committee today are still exactly the right ones. It is about recognising not just the plan to have these, but, actually, the work of the staff to lead and deliver that work on the ground in a pilot phase, and that the learning isn't just the outcomes of what that means, but also the staff mix that you need to deliver them successfully. So, the evaluation can't simply be about, 'This is the right answer', and then not having a view on how that moves forward.

I want to be in a position to understand whether we need to make different investment choices centrally, or whether, actually, we need to help direct and get around our system in different parts of the service. That's why, for example, we've continued to invest in imaging services, not just the imaging academy, to improve the quality of training and to improve the retention of staff, but also the investment we've made in the most recent round of healthcare professionals' training and the additional investment we've made in radiotherapists, for example, as well. So, this is about equipping ourselves for the future, but still properly understanding that there's more we need to do when we have that full evaluation of what to do next.